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CONFESSIONS OF A WIFE
ELIENE IS GLAD SHE FORGAVE HARRY
The next day after Donna Tenney
called, Eliene came in rather early.
Dear girl! She hasjjeen coming to
see me every day since T have been
ill.
Eliene was looking rather worn
and I asked her what was the mat
ter. "Nothing more than usual," she
answered.
"Do you mean to tell me Eliene
that you feel all the time as you
look now?" I asked with a smile.
She went to the glass. "I do look
rather seedy," she said as she took
out her little gold case and began to
repair the ravages that unhappiness
seemed to be making on her com
plexion. "It won't do, Eliene," I remarked
as I watched her from the bed. "The
contents of that vanity case have to
be augmented by interest in life and
at least hope of happiness if you
would have your complexion the
same live rose leaf tint that it used
to have."
Eliene looked at me critically.
"Have you looked in the glass lately,
Margie?
"I think if you did you would find
that you needed a good deal of that
bpauty balm yourself."
"Cat," I exclaimed with a laugh,
and then we both sighed, and ex
claimed in concert: "What is it that
makes you unhappy?"
Eliene was first to answer. She
came over and sat down on the bed
and taking one of my hands she held
it up to her cheek in a caressing man
ner. "It is Harry," she exclaimed. "Mar
gie he is simply broken-hearted be
cause he cannot run for mayor. He
says if it were not for me and the
children he would do so anyway and
let the whole scandal come out.
"I think he was rather in hopes I
would say, 'go ahead we can stand it,'
and truly, Margie, if it were not for
the children I think I would, but I
can't blast those boys' careers with
illegitimacy , nor can I have the
breath of scandal about her father
come to Eliene's ears when she grows
older. Sometimes, Margie, I think
the man pays as well as the woman.
Certainly Harry is paying, but I have
yet to see why I and the children,
who are perfectly innocent of wrong
doing, should be made to help work
out the laws of compensation for
him."
"Are you sorry you came back to
Harry, Eliene?"
She looked at me in utter surprise.
"Why, Margie, I could not do any
thing else, and if the way had been
much harder I could not be sorry.
You have to 'stick,' dear, if you love
a man. It is not a case of your hap
piness or unhappiness. You just love
him and that is all.
"It is always rather laughable to
me to hear a woman tell what she
would do if her husband did 'thus and
so.' My dear Margie, she don't know
what she would do, for until the op
portunity for some great sacrifice
comes she never knows whether she
really loves her husband or not
"You then learn that love means
giviHg, not receiving. I wish I could
give Harry the chance of being mayor
of this town. If I could at great sac
rifice to myself I would do so. But,
Margie, I cannot sacrifice the chil
dren. They, the darlings, are inno
cent of any wrongdoing and it hurts
me that 'the sins of the father' should
be visited on their heads.
"I expect this is the reason why I
am pale, dear, but I try hot to worry,
for I have them all with me, and,
dear, I almost feel as though I could
not live without any one of them."
Just then, little book, Harry and
Dick came in together and they were
certainly good to look at
Of course, Dick was the hand-
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